It looked like the Boston Celtics were primed for the first season of a soft rebuild this season, largely due to a bloated salary sheet and the devestating Achilles injury suffered by franchise star Jayson Tatum. The expectations were that the Celtics were going to be a good not great team this year with a chance to be a playoff team after thinning the roster a bit and while Tatum used the year to recover from his injury. Instead, they’ve been one of the best teams in the Association, falling just
a game shy of the infamous Phil Jackson 40-20 Rule of Title Contention, and Tatum is back in the fold, looking more or less the same as ever in his first 2 games back, both wins. Tatum’s return could be the spark that sets the Celtics off running heading into the playoffs, as Boston currently sit just 2.5 games back of the Detroit Pistons
San Antonio meanwhile has continued their winning ways, going 3-0 so far on this 6-game homestand. Winners of 15 of their last 16, the Spurs are trying to build all the momentum they can with April fast approaching. San Antonio beat the East-leading Pistons rather handily last week to kick off the homestand and now will have an opportunity to take down the current #2 seed and spoiler for the Jayson Tatum return tour.
San Antonio Spurs (47-17) vs Boston Celtics (43-21)
March 10 2026 | 7:00 PM CT
Watch: NBC, FDSS | Listen: WOAI (1200 AM)
Spurs Injuries: Harrison Barnes, ankle (OUT), Mason Plumlee, reconditioning (OUT), David Jones-Garcia, OUT
Celtics Injuries: Nikola Vucevic, finger (OUT),
What to watch for
- It’s pretty remarkable how good Tatum has looked in his two appearances so far. A little under 10 months since tearing his Achilles in the 2nd round against the Knicks last playoffs, he’s looked very close to the all around star that he was before the injury. Perhaps his game will fall off a bit as the games and minutes start to pile up, but if he can give the Celtics what he’s displayed so far, good luck betting against them in the playoffs. It’s no secret that an Achilles rupture has long been considered something of an athlete’s death warrant, but Tatum looks like he might be able to buck that trend.
- Having a healthy Tatum back in the lineup takes a lot of pressure off the rest of the Celtics, but no one is more relieved probably than Jaylen Brown. Brown has done more than just held down the fort all season long in Tatum’s absence. He’s having a career year, becoming inf the engine of the league’s 2nd best offense in the process. Coming into the season, the thought was that the only way Boston was going to compete for a playoff spot would be if Brown raised his level of play and he’s done just that. The former Finals MVP is averaging career-best numbers in points, field goal attempts, free throw attempts, rebounds, and assists.
- Boston has a top 5 offense and defense this season, an incredible feat considering what the pundits were saying at the outset. Joe Mazulla’s switch heavy scheme, elite rebounding and a glacier-like pace that’s the slowest in the league have gone a long way in helping the Celtics control games and strangle opposing offenses. They are thin in the middle, having lost the recently acquired Nikola Vucevic to a finger injury, but Neemias Queta has been the anchor of their defense all season long. A starter in all but 5 games this season, Queta has really blossomed in his 5th season into a dominant rim protecting big, capable of shutting down drives and bringing help at opportune times. Victor Wembanyama can essentially do whatever he wants on a basketball court, but Queta will provide a stiff test for San Antonio’s team offense as a whole.
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